Chilli, coriander & lime

Horseradish & chive

2 tbsp horseradish cream

6 coarsely crushed peppercorn

Method

Take 100g of butter out of the fridge for an hour to soften. Flavour is key, so use good-quality semi-salted or unsalted butter. Beat the butter with a wooden spoon until it is soft and creamy, then beat in any of the flavourings you fancy. See each below.

Tip the flavoured butter onto a square of baking parchment or cling film, roll it around the butter to form a sausage shape, then twist the ends to seal. The butter is now ready to be stored for up to 3 days in the fridge or up to a month in the freezer.

This sounds like a brilliant idea for folk who enjoy butter over their veg.Which I don't.But it's the sort of thing I used to do for Father-in-law coming to visit. He and my husband tucked into the butter for their veg, while MIL and I were happy to see them enjoying it!It's also a great stand-by to have in the freezer over festive periods (whenever these occur for your family) and certainly *not* confined just to Christmas.

My favourites -Garlic Butter (I usually use Liquid Garlic from the bottle for this).Mustard Butter (a good spoonful of coarse-grain mustard).Lemon Butter (especially for fish) and I quite often will use lime instead.And the one that my younger son used to make for me occasionally - a Saturday NIght Special, which had garlic and lemon, a wee drop of coarse-grained mustard, and a good squirt of tomato puree, with various seasoning.

I was surprised there was no comment on this series of recipes. This is a great time saver! It takes no time at all to make these different butters; and you're only limited by your imagination. I make one that I use on seared salmon fillets: I use lemon juice, chives and lemon thyme from my garden. I put the ingredients in a food processor (so my butter is not quite room temp.--it's cool so that the heat generated by the processor softens it, but doesn't melt it) so, it's very quick. These butters can really dress up a simple meal.

Questions (0)

Unsure about the cooking time or want to swap an ingredient? Ask us your questions and we’ll try and help you as soon as possible. Or if you want to offer a solution to another user’s question, feel free to get involved…

Be the first to ask a question about this recipe…

Tips (0)

Got your own twist on this recipe? Or do you have suggestions for possible swaps and additions? We’d love to hear your ideas.

Reader offer: £40 off delicious meals

Reader offer: £10 off + 2 free craft beers

Skills & know how

As well as helping you decide what to cook we can also help you to cook it. From tips on cookery techniques to facts and information about health and nutrition, we’ve a wealth of foodie know how for you to explore.

About BBC Good Food

We’re all about good recipes, and about quality home cooking that everyone can enjoy. Whether you’re looking for some healthy inspiration or learning how to cook a decadent dessert, we’ve trustworthy guidance for all your foodie needs.

Our recipes

All our recipes are tested thoroughly by us to make sure they’re suitable for your kitchen at home. We know many of you are concerned about healthy eating, so we send them to a qualified nutritionist for thorough analysis too.

Follow us

This website is made by BBC Worldwide.

BBC Worldwide is a commercial company that is owned by the BBC (and just the BBC). No money from the licence fee was used to create this page. The profits we make from it go back to BBC programme-makers to help fund great new BBC programmes.